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Young actors from communities north of Boston are appearing in Boston Children’s Theatre’s productions of “Spring Awakening’’ and “Little Women’’ at the Governor’s Academy in the Byfield section of Newbury Thursday through next Sunday.

“We are honored to be one of the first children’s theaters in the country to produce ‘Spring Awakening,’ ’’ said Toby Schine, executive producer of Boston Children’s Theatre, who will direct the musical. “This production reflects the theater’s commitment to providing cutting-edge material of the highest quality, presented with taste, integrity, and discretion.’’

“Spring Awakening,’’ set in late 19th-century Germany, follows a group of teens as they journey from adolescence to adulthood. It features an alternative rock score with music by Duncan Sheik.

“Little Women,’’ based on the 1869 novel by Louisa May Alcott, is based in Concord and focuses on the four March sisters - aspiring writer and tomboy Jo, romantic Meg, pretentious Amy, and kind-hearted Beth - and their beloved mother, Marmee. The women are at home while the patriarch of the family is serving with the Union Army in the Civil War.

“This iconic novel has stayed relevant for many generations and the story translates beautifully to the stage,’’ said Burgess Clark, the theater’s executive artistic director and director of this show. “Our students are able to relate on many levels to the characters. The level of energy, enthusiasm, and honesty our young actors bring to the roles is truly astonishing. They give this story an entirely new dimension on stage.’’

Featured in the cast are Austin Davy, Jessica Marlor, and Gina De Matteo of Beverly; Kristina Katrinelis of Boxford; Samantha Flahive of Hamilton; Patrick Brady of Medford; Brooke Snow of Merrimac; Linnea Schultz of Methuen; Amy Corman of North Andover; Lorin Zackular and Toby March of North Reading; Karlee Hunt of Peabody; Victoria Brandano of Rowley; Sarah Yetts of Salem; Megan Dwinell of Tewksbury; Claudia Namaroff of Wenham; Brianna Ryder of Westford; Allegra Larson of West Newbury; and Allsun O’Malley of Winchester.

In addition, the casts of both shows include students from Germany who are part of a summer program at Boston Children’s Theatre.

Performances of “Spring Awakening’’ are 8 p.m. Thursday and Saturday; and 2 p.m. next Sunday. Tickets are $30 and $25, $20 and $15 for students. The show contains mature subject matter and adult content. Parental discretion is recommended.

AUTHOR’S CORNER: Novel Destinations, the adult summer-reading program at the Hamilton-Wenham Library, features armchair travel to various destinations, 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesdays. The regions are explored through books and DVDs. Participants are invited to bring a brown-bag lunch. Dessert, which is themed to the place visited, is provided. The program features Ireland on Tuesday and Provence on Aug. 9. . . . Glenice Upton Boyd of Bradford is the author of the recently published novel “Since Boston.’’ In the book, a woman is dating two men, Grayson Smith and Peter Jones. She marries Jones, but he is killed in a car accident, leaving her to raise a 6-month-old daughter alone. She meets Smith again at a wedding and they rekindle their romance. Boyd, a mother of two and grandmother of six, is working on two other books.

IN LOCAL GALLERIES: Works by some of the region’s best-known artists are available to bidders at the North Shore Arts Association 2011 Live Auction from 7 to 9 p.m. Saturday at the association’s gallery, 11 Pirates Lane in East Gloucester. Nearly 100 pieces of art, representing a range of artists, styles, and media, are available. People who can’t attend can watch the proceedings on home computers or electronic devices and make real-time bids online at www.liveauctioneers.com. The artwork can be viewed at the association now through Saturday. . . . “Moment of Pure Seeing,’’ an exhibit of mixed-media textile art by Linda Branch Dunn and Sonja Lee-Austin, is at the Loading Dock Gallery at Western Avenue Studios in Lowell through Aug. 29. A reception with the artists is from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday. Dunn works primarily with abandoned textiles, on which she layers dye, paint, paper, and fabric. Images include her drawings, as well as found text and personal photographs. Lee-Austin presents a combination of art quilts and mixed-media pieces. For her art quilts, she prints photographs on fabric and enhances them with hand stitching. For her mixed-media pieces, she uses branches and wire to create leaf-like shapes, which she weaves and wraps with threads, ribbons, and other materials.